Social Media: Is It Wrong To Use A Facebook Profile As Your Business Page?

There are over 40 million business pages on Facebook. Everyone who has a business is on it. Your target market is on Facebook. So you may ask - why even bother building a business website?

These days one of the most powerful tools to growing the visibility of a business is Social Media.

Among these various social media platforms, Facebook remains one of the most popular.

Think of Facebook as a well-meaning tool to reach your audience and generate leads. But it shouldn't eliminate the presence of a dedicated business website.

If you are one of the millions of entrepreneurs worldwide who would like to take advantage of Facebook to launch or promote your business, using your personal Facebook profile as a business page might seem like the most logical idea since you can reach out and add friends rather than having to wait for them to come to you.

Unfortunately, using a personal page to promote a business is considered a violation of Facebook’s Term of Service and may result in you permanently losing access to your account.

Also just because it’s free! Doesn’t mean you should rely solely on it.

Should you solely use Facebook? Why having your own business website rocks!

You might expect us to be biased but here’s why we think having your own business website rocks!

You rule your own domain. This much is true for kings and Queens. Being the ‘ruler’ of your own website – you set the rules and you plan your own digital strategy way ahead of the competition.

Your website with its own domain name and hosting is a big part of your online marketing efforts. It is your business’ primary home online. It is a place where you can let your company brand live, not be constrained and important differentiate yourself from the competitors.

Your business website should also be the location where you direct all your social media campaigns to (wherever possible) and provide the vital information your customers need, presented in a logical manner.

A third party social site such as Facebook has its strict legal terms of agreement, and your page can be subject to an indiscriminate takedown at any time. A user (or unscrupulous competitor) can even report you for fraudulent activity on a whim. Trying to retrieve your brand Facebook account may take ages to verify.

This means you can lose your Facebook presence at any time and you can do nothing about it. With your very own business website, you control the message and your branding narrative. And no one can take your website away from you (unless you have unpaid site hosting bills).

It is important to remember that Social Media platforms are in essence shiny and pretty advertising platforms. Facebook will charge you for ongoing engagement with you ‘followers’ with typically your posts only reaching 4-7% of those liking your company page. That's not a good figure or ROI for your hard earned efforts. Social media may be financially cheap but the longterm cost could be your businesses viability.

Facebook profile vs Facebook page

To understand why you need to use a business page for your business on Facebook, it is important to differentiate between a profile and a page.

A Facebook Profile is a personal account on Facebook which you’ll have set up when you first signed up for Facebook. Your Facebook profile is the platform where you communicate on a personal level with your friends (using your own name), sharing photos, videos, and other general updates about your life, interests and hobbies.

A Facebook Page, on the other hand, is a public profile created for businesses, brands, celebrities, and other organisations. Unlike personal profiles, pages do not gain friends but "fans" or “followers”- who arrived by choice to your page by “liking” it. Here, you can promote your business deals and offers to your followers.

Do you need a website?

Has this handy guide made you realise you need a new website or web designer onboard working with your business to reach new customers? 

We are proud to build websites meeting Google’s highest standards, and doing all the hard work so they rank well on Google. Don’t cut corners when it comes to your website, consult with 1768degrees.com and we will ensure you a website fit for your company and brand.

As SEO leaders we can even undertake website copy, ensuring that your competitors rank below you on Google. We'll jump all the SEO hoops for you! Inquire to know more at adam@1768degrees.com

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